Veteran pacer Mitchs Ceilidh beat out some of his younger counterparts in the aged pacing division with a perfect pocket trip to capture the $3,775 Octoberfest Pacing Series Final on Saturday afternoon at Northside Downs
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Leaving from Post 3, the 13-year-old son of Kingsbridge and trainer-driver Alex MacNeil settled in behind the popular inside starter Truth Or Dare and Ryan Campbell off the gate. Truth Or Dare laid down fractions of :28.4, :59.2 and 1:28.4 before Mitchs Ceilidh converted from the pocket to score in 1:58 by one and a half lengths, with his final quarter clocked in :28.4. Truth Or Dare stayed for second while Aahm Cruisin and Alex MacQuarrie rallied wide off cover to come on for third.
Mitchs Ceilidh paid $16.60 to win as the 7-1 fourth choice. He finished fourth in the opening leg of the series and won his second leg split last weekend. His victory today was his fifth of the year giving him 15 out of 24 top three finishes in his 13-year-old campaign. Mitchs Ceilidh notched his 55th career win and pushed his lifetime earnings to $123,579.
Also trained and driven by MacNeil for owner Kevin Gillis of Windsor, Ont., Little Wubbs was a wire-to-wire winner in this week’s $600 Fillies & Mares Not Listed Preferred Pace. The five-year-old Modern Art mare was two and three-quarter lengths the best as she stopped the clock in 2:01.3. First over challenger Danielles Success and Angus Bates finished second while Shugs Fantasy and Kenneth Passerini finished third. Little Wubbs, a four-time winner in 2011, has hit the board in 12 of her 22 starts this year.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Northside Downs - Saturday Results.